Welding Wire (1 Viewer)

[Cruiserdrew]

I'm posting this for the new welders on the board. I've been welding with my MM210 for a couple of months now and have been following a couple of welding forums as well. There seems to be near universal agreement that the Radnor welding wire is about the best and easiest to use. I've been using whatever IOC sent me, but yesterday I went out and found some of the Radnor wire. It turns out it is Airgas' house brand. They say there is a bit more Mangenese in the alloy to make it easier to get good welds on steel that may have a bit of contamination.

I have to say it is noticably better. For lack of a better way to describe it, the arc is more stable and there is much less fine spatter. The welds look better as well.

I'm curious what type of wire others are using, and if anyone thinks the Radnor wire is different from anything else. ie-hype or real. I also have a roll of some Swedish wire in .035 I have not tried yet.

 

[Brentbba]

Surgery of a different type Andy?

 

[Planet_X]

Lincolns L-50 or L-56, with L-50 being my first choice for mig welding steel.

One way to test if the wires chemistry is consistent would be to run some passes using spray transfer, If the arc length stays the same while welding- excellent, but if the arc length (assuming no mechanical or operator error) moves up and down- the wire has quality control issues.

You wont be able to do this without going into a decent spray transfer which requires more amp/volts than the MM210 is rated for, but if the wire works for you, use it.

{its possible to spray with the 210, but you will want a low energy mix}